We Conservatives need to show that we are up to the task of rescuing this country's economy from the damage being done by current policies. The popular mood has shifted decisively against this government as a result of the revelation that far from offering economic success based on prudence, this government has been offering an economic mess based on too much borrowing. All this government wants to do now is to spend money it does not have – £3bn last week on new equity for Northern Rock, a business which should be returned promptly to the private sector while there is still something left.

The Conservatives are in a good position to do just this. The central economic tenet of the leadership has been to say they will share the proceeds of economic growth between tax reductions and better public services. They have said, as Mr Blair said but did not do, that extra public money alone is not sufficient to give us the hospitals and schools we need. Reform is also needed, a system which allows more choice and local initiative and spends less on top down requirements, audit, surveillance and instruction. They have said welfare needs reform to place the accent on finding more jobs for more people to get them off benefit.

These three central tenets of modern Conservatism are central to bringing about economic recovery after the damaging credit crunch. We need to seek more value for every public pound spent. We need to concentrate the extra public money on schools and hospitals, not on broken banks, ID cards and hand outs. We need to relieve the burden of taxation when we can where it does most damage. High taxes are fuelling price rises, and cutting new investment and the creation of new jobs.

Judging by current opinion polls the present leadership has persuaded many voters of the need for change. To persuade them to vote this way in a general election, and to show them we mean business, the leadership can and will flesh out more of the detail of how these three main propositions will be applied to a broken society and a broken economy. We will have to explain how we cannot allow government to carry on living on tick on the huge scale of this current regime. We can show how if you avoided nationalising Northern Rock, avoided excess enthusiasm for wildly expensive centralised computerisation schemes, and keep better control over the numbers of quangos and administrative staff you could start to right the listing UK government ship now in such heavy waters.